Weftless fabric and method of manufacturing same



Nov. 23 1926. 1,608,102

A. E. JURY WEFTLESS FABRIC AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME Filed NOV. 23 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l 33% MAI 61mm;

v v anoeutoz ALFRED E .JURYV Nov. 23 1926;

' A. E. JURY WEFTLESS FABRIC AND METHOD OF mnumcrunme SAME FiledjNov. 23. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Qvwenfoz AILFRED E. JURY whim flame/1 I Patented Nov. 23, 1926,

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlc" ALFRED E. URY, OF RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE HARTFORD RUB- BER WORKS COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- NECTICUT.

TIEIFTLESS FABRIC AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME.

Application filed November 23, 1923, Serial No. 676,496.

need and a simple process for obtaining the.

same. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a cord material having improved resistance to tearing and valuable for many purposes, particularly in connection with the manufacture of tires as a means for preventing or limiting the extent of a blowout. Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved process for obtaining sheet material more resistant to tearing and which may be made rapidly and economically. These are some of. the objects of the invention, others will appear in the detailed disclosure following.

With the illustrated embodiments in mind and without intention to limit the scope more than is required by .,the prior art, the invention consists in latex" treating and drying a multiplicity of cord-elements in such a way as to obtain in one operation a multiply Weftless fabric, that is, a fabric consisting of superimposed as well as side-by-side disposed cord-elements in close-lying parallel relation united by rubber. It also contemplates grouping a number of parallel cords and uniting the groups of parallel cords with rubber composition, preferably by calendering.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a cross-section of typical weftless fabric consisting of a single layer of parallel cords;

Figure 2 is a cross-section of multi-ply weftless fabric.

Figures 3 and at are cross-sections of diffrent forms of grouped cord weftless fabric, the former showing only one layer of cords ,and the latter a plurality of layers of cords;

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic elevation of an apparatus suitable for treating cords with latex and drying the same;

Figures fiand 7 are details of one of the This invention, for one object, cona creel 1.

rating latex treated and dried cords into groups and uniting the groups into a unitary flexible sheet material.

Referring to the drawings, cords 1, or other form of filamentary material, wound on spools, are arranged to be delivered from The individual cords are threaded through eyes on the creel and eyes on a thread-board 2, from which they pass through power-driven tension rolls 3 and an expansion-comb 4.- on their way to a tank 5 holding rubber latex or similar material. The devices which act upon the cords prior to their entry into the latex in the tank 5 serve, preferably, to arrange the cords so that each one is parallel and touches cords on either side thereof and also superimposed thereon if desired.

The cords pass from the expansion-comb 4 over an idler 6 mounted, as here shown, immediately above the entrance side of the tank 5. Mounted adjacent the bottom of the tank is a pair of squeeze-rolls 7. Although squeeze-rolls are here shown, it will be understood that a single roll may be employed if desired. A latex tank 8 is arranged to deliver latex into the tank 5. Mounted upon the tank 5 is an expansioncomb 9 above ,which is an idler-1O and in line with the comb and idlers is a double doctor-blade 11, adapted to scrape excess latex from the cords emerging from the tank. A series of dry-cans 12 are here shown mounted above the tank and adapted to receive cords emerging therefrom. The "drycans supported by standards 13 are internaldition. The material passing from the dry cans is conducted through idlers 15 and thence to a wind-up roll 16, which may be driven in any convenient manner.

With the apparatus ilhfstrated in Figure v5 of the drawings, weftless fabric may be 'manufactured in the form of a single layer of cords, as shown'in Figure 1, or of a plurality of layers of cords, as shownin Figure 2, in one operation, by suitably varying the number of cords that are threaded through each dent of combs, as illustrated, for instance, in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings. The number of cords threaded through each dent of the comb will vary with the type of comb employed, the size of the cords, and the number of layers of cord it is desired to obtain in the finished material.

In this manner, a multiply weftless fabricconsisting of approximately two or more times as many cords as can be arranged parallel and contiguous in a single layer of the desired widthmay be made continuously in one operation with all the cords united together by rubber derived from latex by drying in situ thereon so as to more or less thoroughlyimpregnate each and every one of the cords and also to substantially fill the voids or channels between the cords. This material may be used advantageously in connection with the building of tires, hose,

" beltin and a variety of other articles of manufacture No more operations are re quired in manufacturing the multi-ply weftless fabric than in manufacturingv weftless fabric of a single layer of cords, and a unitary flexible sheet with each cord cushioned in rubber is'produced.

To obtain a weftless fabric which is more resistant to tearing than former types in which the cords are uniformly separated or spaced apartin contra-distinction to contiguous-it has been found advantageous to arrange the cords non-uniformly and in groups, as shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, for instance. For this purpose, one or two sheets of weftless fabric consisting of a single layer of cords, or asingle multi-ply weftless fabric consisting of more =.than one layer of parallel cords, may be conducted from previously prepared rolls- 20 and 21, over a guide-roll.22 to slitting blades or fingers 23. Any suitable number of these blades 23 may be employed, but preferably they are of a number and size 'to divide the cords into groups about as indicated at a and b in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. The groups of cords areconducted from the blades 23 over a pressing roll 24, preferably, but not necessarily, provided wlth grooves 25 at the proper intervals. The pressing roll 24 is free to turn with the intermediate roll 26 of a calender having other co-operating rolls 27 and 28, supported and driven in any convenient and well-known manner. A bank of rubber, maintained at 28', may be continuously filmed by the calender, as indicated at. 29, so as to be continuously brought in contact with the groups of cords a and b at a point opposite the pressing roll 24, and moved around with the cords to the bight 30 where,

While it is preferred to manufacture the.

material, consisting of contiguous orcloselying parallel cords arranged in groups and having the groups separated from one another by a substantial web of rubber com position, from the single or multi-ply weftless fabric mentioned above, the invention is not limited in its broadest aspect to the same as the cords may be latex treated and dried in any other suitable and convenient manner, for instance, entirely separated and disconnected from each other before bringing them into proximity in sheet formation. Alternatively, also, the cord-elements in each group might be webbed together with latexeither a single or plurality of layers in thicknessomitting to thread them through certain of the dents of the comb 9, Figure 5,.for instance, the first, sixth, eleventh, sixteenth, etc., dentsin order to obtain the groups separated. This might be done most'conveniently by dryin them on a liner in the proper spaced an separated relation between groups, and then passing the cords still on the liner through a calender for uniting the groups of cords together with rubber composition. In this alternative procedure, while it is preferred to dry the cords on a liner, the latter might be dispensed with, in some instances at least, and the groups of cords 'alone conducted in spaced relation to a calender for coating and bonding together with rubber composition.

In the claims, the term cord-elements is used comprehensively to cover single or plied yarns, threads, cords, rovings, or any other arrangements of fibers affording a strain-resisting element. In the claims also, the term latex is used to comprehend a natural or modified form of latex, that is,

\ Patent is 1. A rubberized fabric consisting of parallel groups of parallel cord-elements held together in sheet formation and in spacedrelation solely by rubber composition.

2. A rubberized fabric consisting of groups of parallel cord-elements held together in sheet formation and in spaced relation solely by rubber composition, each group being parallel to its neighbors and comprising at least two layers of cordelements.

'3. A fabric for manufacturing rubber articles'consisting of latex treated'and dried cord-elements arranged parallel and in groups, the groups of cord-elements held in spaced parallel relation and in sheet formation by rubber composition.

4. That method of manufacturing a rubberized fabric-for incorporation in rubber articles which consists in, latex treating and drying parallel cord-elements, superimposing :the cord-elements in layers to make a multi-ply weftless fabric, separating the multi-ply weftless fabric at intervals to form distinct groups of bonded together cordelements, and joining the groups of cordelements with rubber composition to form a manipulatable sheet.

5. As an article of manufacture, weftless fabric consisting of a multiplicity of cordelements in side-by-side and superimposed and close-lying parallel relation, said cordelements being webbed together to form a flexible sheet by dried rubber.

6. As an article of manufacture, weftless fabric consisting of a multiplicity of cordelements in side-by-side and superimposed and close-lying parallel relation, said cordelements being webbed together to form a flexible sheet by rubber derived from rubber latex applied thereto and dried in situ.

7. The method of manufacturing a rubberized fabric for incorporation in rubber articles which consists in, latex treating and drying parallel cord-elements to form a weftless fabric, separating the fabric at intervals to form groups of bonded together cord-elements in spaced relation to each other and joining the spaced groups with rubber composition to form a sheet.

Signed at New York city county of New York, and State of New York, this 21st day of November, 1923.

ALFRED E. JURY. 

